Chapter 8

The coldness of the kunai knife spread from Lyle's neck down to the rest of his body. If he moved even an inch, his life would end very abruptly. Or slowly…

Colette was standing in between Lyle and Zelos, holding a kunai knife in each hand to their throats. What happened to her rings? "Drop your weapons," she ordered. Lyle looked to Zelos to see what he would do. He dropped his sword; Lyle did the same. The assassin before them kicked them to the corner of the room, bound their wrists and ankles, and gagged their mouths, first with Zelos, then Lyle. He pushed them to the floor next to the other prisoners. Zelos managed to turn his head so his cheek absorbed the impact from hitting the carpet. Lyle did the same.

"This only leaves Lloyd and Genis," the assassin said.

"Yes," Colette replied. "Shall we continue with the same strategy?"

"Of course. Find them and lead them here."

She nodded and walked out the door. Lyle still had trouble believing what he saw. Did Colette really betray them? No, she wouldn't do that. Is she an imposter, then? If so, how long did she take the place of Colette? Was there a Colette to begin with? Was this Colette the imposter and the one from before was the real girl? Lyle felt like smacking his head on the wall, which he did once he noticed that he was sitting right next to one. Why are there so many unanswered questions?

Lyle suddenly received a fierce kick in the leg from the assassin. "If you do that again, you will force me to cut off your fingers and stick them-!" Lyle blocked out the rest. All that he remembered was that he was serious and sounded like he would really do it. So he just sat tight waiting for something to happen. Finally, something did.

Colette stepped inside with no one following her. "Where are they?" the assassin asked.

She looked at him and simply shrugged. "They refused to come."

"What do you mean, 'they refused to come'?"

"Exactly as it sounds. I told them that all of their friends are being held hostage and that they needed to come. They simply replied, 'There are more important things at hand right now.'"

The assassin just glared at her for a moment. Then out of nowhere, produced a shuriken and threw it at Colette. She smoothly jumped out of the way. "Liar!"

"W-what are you talking about? I'm not lying!"

"I have a fair knowledge about Lloyd's and Genis' character. They would respond immediately, not brush it aside. You made it all up! A truly foolish attempt to lower my guard." Lower his guard? Lyle asked himself. That's the real Colette!

"I guess I've been caught." The assassin suddenly turned around, then leapt backwards. Lloyd appeared where he was and struck downwards with both twin blades, missing him. Now he was in between the assassin and the hostages.

"Ah, Lloyd Irving," he said. "It's been—what? Four years since we've last seen each other?"

Lloyd seemed confused at first, but then something suddenly clicked. Lloyd's expression grew serious. "I admit, your new look threw me for a second, but your voice is unmistakable. Hello, Kuchinawa."

Kuchinawa? Lyle asked himself. They know each other?

"Where have you been all this time?" Lloyd asked. "And how did you get here?"

"That is none of your concern right now. If you surrender yourself to us, we will let everyone go."

"What is it that you want with me?"

"Again, that is none of your concern."

"It is every bit my concern!"

"I am unaccustomed to repeating myself."

Lyle sighed. "Fine, then. Let us take this outside."

"Do you take me for a fool? I'm not going to let these prisoners alone to be freed by your friend, here." He indicated Colette. "Now surrender yourself or you will force me to execute one of them."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm in between you and the prisoners. I doubt you will get very far."

"You shouldn't speak so confidently. My skills have increased tenfold since our last encounter."

"I could say the same for my own."

"We shall see." Kuchinawa, with a flick of his wrist, took out one kunai in each hand. He threw the one that was in his right hand at Lloyd's forehead. Lloyd sidestepped the knife, missing his head by less than an inch. He charged at the man. He swung the blade in his right hand to the left. With the kunai, Kuchinawa blocked the strike. Lloyd swung his other sword to the right. Kuchinawa pulled out yet another kunai and blocked that strike as well.

The two were in a lock. Lloyd pushed hard against his defense, while he pushed back harder. While this was happening, Genis came from the back and started cutting the prisoners free with a knife that he had, starting with Marta. Kuchinawa noticed this going on. He saw the knife that he threw at Lloyd before on the ground. He kicked Lloyd away and stepped on the blade end of the kunai, sending it flying up. Once at the proper height, he kicked it and sent it flying right at Genis. He deflected it with the knife in his hand. "You've had training with a knife, I see," Kuchinawa observed.

Genis ignored him and finished cutting Marta free. She picked up her spinner, which was lying in the corner, and then charged at Kuchinawa from behind. Once she was close enough, he simply threw his foot out and kicked her in the stomach. She fell over backwards.

She got back on her feet just in time for yet another assassin to strike her from above with a sword. She managed to block it in time. Lyle realized that this was the same one that attacked them earlier. Apparently, he managed to recover that blade. Genis now cut Zelos free. Zelos quickly grabbed his weapon and tried to stab the assassin that attacked Marta. But something seemed odd about that attack. It seemed to move slower than usual.

The assassin easily dodged to the right and then cut him from the right side of his waist to the left shoulder. It was a very deep cut. Blood spurted from the wound. Zelos groaned, stumbled backwards, and then fell. "Zelos!" screamed Marta. She started running toward him to administer treatment, but the assassin stepped in between them. He aimed for her neck. She got down on her knees and slid beneath the sword. Then she got back up, turned around, and struck his blade with her spinner. It was spinning violently, so each prong struck the blade with startling speed, shooting out sparks in all directions. She pressed harder for a moment, but the assassin persisted.

Then she kicked out at him, landing it right below the belt. Lyle winced. There has to be a rule somewhere about not hitting a man in his weak spot. The assassin groaned and clutched his "two best friends." Then Marta struck him with her spinner, carving a red horizontal line across his chest. Blood spurted and started running down his outfit as he fell to the ground, unable to fight anymore.

Marta immediately ran over to Zelos and began treating him. She placed some dressing on his wound and put some herbs that she kept in her pockets in his mouth and in the wound.

Lyle was watching this when he suddenly realized something. Colette never joined the fight. What's going on? He looked over and saw that she was already in a different battle. Apparently, the Colette imposter came back and is taking on the real one outside. The only way to tell them apart was the weapons they were using.

The real Colette, with both rings in her hands, struck violently four times at the fake one. Her attacks were blocked with the kunai, but then she spun around with her arms outstretched. The strength of the attack knocked the fake off balance. Then as she whirled to face her attacker, she tossed one ring up in the air, pulled a para ball out of her pocket, and threw it at her. The fake barely managed to recover and block the attack in time, but then as soon as the ball struck against the kunai, a lightning bolt came out of nowhere and blasted the fake backwards. She flew about fifteen feet, bounced once, and then rolled to a halt.

Colette threw another one, but the fake recovered quickly. She disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the para ball to bounce harmlessly across the ground. She reappeared behind Colette. She threw the kunai, aiming for her heart. Colette saw it coming and tried to dodge to the left, but the knife buried itself into her shoulder. Blood immediately began running down her arm and torso. She cried out in pain and fell on her knees. Her body wanted to fall over, but she refused to let it do so. Instead, she stood back up with her right arm now hanging limp.

Colette suddenly started glowing. Her wings grew from her back and she lowered her head as if she was praying. A pinkish, purplish aura surrounded her. Feathers started materializing and rising from the ground all around her. The fake knew what she was doing and wasn't about to let her do it. She immediately threw another kunai at her. This time she would never be able to dodge it. This time it would pierce her heart.

Time seemed to slow down at this time. The knife slowed down to the point where it seemed to be biding its time, enjoying the moment leading up to the kill. Colette knew what the result of this would be. It was going to be very close, though.

The knife drew closer and closer, almost agonizingly slowly. Finally, it drew to within a foot of her chest. That is when the charge was complete. An angel feather appeared and shot through the kunai. The knife immediately shattered into hundreds of harmless bits of metal. The feather, followed by two more, shot outward toward the fake at blazing speed. She couldn't dodge it in time. The first went straight through her left shoulder, the second went through her right hip, and the last went through her left leg. She immediately collapsed. Colette really wanted to do the same, but she lumbered over to where the fake lay.

She was just getting close when the fake disappeared into a puff of smoke. Colette turned around, waiting for an ambush to happen, but nothing came. The battle was over.

Genis came over to Lyle and started cutting him loose. "We're meeting outside," he said. Lyle nodded. Once he was free, he started heading to the front door, but hesitated. A voice in the back of his mind was saying, Don't leave. It's not right to leave them like this.

But then a different voice in his head shouted, What are you doing? Run, you idiot! Run! The former surprisingly proved to be the stronger.

Lloyd charged at Kuchinawa. He brought both swords down hard. Kuchinawa jumped to the left. As soon as the blades hit the floor, he leapt onto Lloyd's arms and then back-flipped off of him, kicking him in the chin in the process. Lloyd fell backwards onto his back. Kuchinawa pulled a sword out and leapt in the air, aiming to stab him. But Lloyd rolled backwards, narrowly missing the point of the blade, and got back on his feet. Kuchinawa's blade embedded itself into the floor. He couldn't pull it out. Lloyd took the opportunity.

He aimed the point of his blade in between Kuchinawa's eyes and charged. He didn't see it coming. The sword went straight through his head, splattering blood and brain matter all over the carpet. This was the end. Lyle was feeling nauseous from watching all of this blood being spilled, but once he saw the blade protruding from the back of Kuchinawa's head, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He barely managed to make it to the corner of the room, before his breakfast ended up on the floor. He just kept going and going until his stomach was completely empty. Lyle knew then that that image would haunt him for the rest of his life.

But then a puff of smoke surrounded Kuchinawa suddenly and the body turned into a cushion that was from the nearby couch. The blood and matter disappeared as well. Lloyd swore and ripped his blade out, spreading the fluff that was contained inside. He looked around closely, waiting for the attack that was to come.

Kuchinawa suddenly appeared to Lloyd's right and roundhouse kicked him in the face. Lloyd crashed against the wall, but he managed to maintain his balance. He came back at him, swinging the sword in his left hand to the right. Kuchinawa caught Lloyd's wrist in his hand, stopping the blow. Then he twisted his arm around behind his back. Everyone in the room heard a very loud crack. Both of the twin swords fell from Lloyd's hands. An initial scream escaped, but it quickly turned into groans.

By this time, Genis had freed everyone except Martin. Lyle wondered what was happening, but then he noticed that Lloyd's shoulder was bulging a little. When he realized that Lloyd's arm was out of joint, he thanked his lucky stars that there was nothing left for him to throw up.

Genis finished cutting Martin free and then noticed the trouble that Lloyd was in. He threw that knife at Kuchinawa, but a shuriken knocked it off course. Both he and Lyle saw where it came from. Not only was the assassin still alive, he was standing. He's persistent, I'll give him that, thought Lyle.

Kuchinawa threw Lloyd into the wall, his forehead smacking against it. He fell onto the ground, unconscious. "Lloyd!" Lyle shouted. Genis then took out his hollow, wooden toy that was shaped like a cross and had a ball and string attached to it. A toy? Really? What's that supposed to do?

Genis swung it so the ball went straight at him. It moved really fast, but Kuchinawa reacted faster. He caught it in his hand as if it he had done it hundreds of times. "I always thought that kendama of yours was pretty pathetic, but this…this is just an embarrassment."

Genis gritted his teeth and turned bright red from anger. He tried to rip the ball out of Kuchinawa's hands, but the man's grip was strong. Realizing that this was futile, Genis dropped the kendama and leapt at him, eager to beat the crud out of him. But Kuchinawa caught him mid-flight in the neck. Genis groaned with Kuchinawa's hand crushing his throat and his feet dangling off of the ground.

"It's a real shame, Genis. Without your magic, you're about as useful as a cockroach infestation. Your knifing skills might have saved you, but it's too bad you lost your weapon already."

Genis managed to force out of his throat, "Stop talking as if I'm already dead. And what makes you think I only have one knife?" He suddenly pulled a knife out and thrust it into Kuchinawa's chest. Blood shot out and got all over the knife and Genis' hand.

He fell out of his grip. Kuchinawa just stood there staring with disbelief at the blade now stuck in between his ribs. Was it finally over? Just like before, there was a puff of smoke that shrouded him. In his place was the same cushion from before. Genis swore, pulled the knife out, and shouted, "ENOUGH OF THESE CHEAP TRICKS!"

Before, after the deflection of Genis' knife when he threw it at Kuchinawa, Marta stood up from treating Zelos and challenged the assassin. "I thought I killed you."

"From a scratch? Not likely." Lyle was surprised to hear the guy talk. He seriously thought he was mute or something. And did he just say that the wound that was dripping with blood was a scratch? Who is this guy?

The assassin picked up the sword he had before. He attacked, striking at her from below. She managed to extend her spinner and block it. He then struck from the left, upper right, lower right, and then upper right again. Marta managed to block it all, though the second strike was pretty close.

Then he started repeatedly striking her from above. He was trying to break Marta's guard and looked like he was succeeding. With every strike, the point of contact in between the sword and the spinner came closer and closer to Marta. She can't hold out for long.

At first Lyle wondered why she couldn't just jump out of the way, but then he realized that she was keeping Zelos covered.

Genis realized this mess that Marta was in and he charged at the assassin. He threw his entire weight into a body slam and managed to knock him off his feet. Marta let her arms drop. She was exhausted and very near her limit. "Thank you," she panted.

Colette now came inside. Lyle noticed the kunai still embedded in her shoulder. "Colette, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she groaned. "It's only a shoulder wound. I've been through worse."

"Shouldn't you be lying down?" Lyle asked worriedly.

"Thank you for being concerned, Lyle, but I can't rest right now. It still isn't over." With that said, she walked—or more like stumbled—over to where Genis and Marta were. The assassin had gotten back on his feet by the time she reached them. All three waited for the assassin to make a move.

He suddenly made that same hand sign that he made before and disappeared in a puff of smoke before anyone could react. He was gone. "Wait," Genis said. "This makes no sense. Why did he-?"

Lyle saw Kuchinawa appear behind them so silently that not even Colette heard him. With sword already drawn, he moved to strike them down. No one saw what was coming next.

Somehow, Lyle was able to move in between Kuchinawa and the Symphonians and block his attack with a blade that materialized on its own in his hand. Kuchinawa was caught by surprise just as much as Lyle and the other three. "Lyle?" Marta asked.

"Don't ask me," he replied with a little strain in his voice. Looking at the sword now in his hands he realized that it was the blade that was always hanging in his room. How did it get here? It couldn't have showed up on its own, could it?

Kuchinawa jumped backwards. "How did you…? That ring. What is that jewel on your ring?"

Lyle had completely forgotten about his ring. He paused to look at it. It was still the same as it was before. Silver body and… "It's an aqua stone. What of it?" Before Kuchinawa could answer, the house suddenly started to shake. Lyle found himself swaying, trying to keep his balance. "What's going on? Is this an earthquake?" Lyle saw Kuchinawa's head lift as if something just acquired his attention. He immediately turned around and bolted out the door. "Wait!" Lyle shouted. "What did you say about"—

A gigantic stalagmite shot up right next to them. As it came up, it grew wider and wider. The house suddenly lifted at that end, violently sending everyone to the floor. They slid until they hit the wall.

Everything stopped just as quickly as it started. The floor was now approximately at a forty-five degree angle. Lyle was lying against either the wall or the floor; he couldn't tell the difference any more. Somehow, Marta ended up on top of him, lying on her back with her head on his chest. She groaned, sat up, and started rubbing her back. "Are you alright?" Lyle asked.

She turned as far as she could without moving her whole body and saw Lyle. "Never mind me. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Oddly enough, it didn't seem like he was hurt at all. "You're the one who looks like you're in pain."

"I landed on something, but I'm not sure what."

"Um…that was probably me." Lyle looked around and saw the couches and tables of which were toppled over and piled against the same wall they were against. It was a wonder that they weren't crushed. Then he laid eyes on the stalagmite protruding from the floor and disappearing into the ceiling. "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure, but it looks like one of Genis' spells, except much bigger."

"One of my spells?" Genis asked. "Yeah, it does look like Stalagmite."

She stood up. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'm fine, but I think Colette's been knocked out."

Lyle started getting back on his feet. "How is she?"

"Let me take a look at her," Marta said as she clambered over them.

Lyle was about ready to stand up when he felt something strange. "Hold still!" he shouted. Everyone froze in their tracks. "Do you feel that?" Of course, it stopped right when he said that.

Genis picked up on it right away. "I felt it, too. The house was swaying a little."

Lyle pointed at the stone pillar. "That's what's holding us up. How does that work?"

Genis took a moment to think about this. Then finally, "If this is something like Stalagmite, then the most likely reason is that there's an outcropping of earth jutting from the pillar that isn't sharp enough to pierce through, but strong enough to support the weight of both the building and us. That would also explain why the house hasn't completely broken in two."

"But if we lean too far to the left or right…"

"…the house will break apart and we will fall to the ground, perhaps our deaths."

Lyle formulated a plan in his mind and pointed to the nearest window. "Genis, you look out there and see how far we are off the ground. Marta, look over Colette and see what happened to her. Move carefully." Then something just occurred to him as the other two made their way through the wreckage. "Where're Zelos and Lloyd?"

"I'm over here," a voice echoed throughout the house.

"Lloyd? Where are you?"

"I'm in the hallway. Right as I came to, the house suddenly flipped upside-down!"

"Alright, hang tight. The house isn't on the ground right now and it feels like it'll come down at the slightest movement."

"How far off the ground?"

Genis shouted, "About twenty feet! If we jump off, we will definitely suffer a few broken bones! And that's if we land right! If we land wrong…" There was no need to finish the sentence.

"Can you climb up?" Lyle asked.

"Right now?"

"No, not right now. What I mean is when it's safe to climb up, will you be able to?"

"Probably not. My arm is still out of joint. I can't move it."

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out. Where's Zelos?"

Marta was still tending to Colette, so Genis looked around. "I don't see—wait! There he is." He slowly made his way past Lyle over to an overturned couch against the wall. Once he reached it, he lifted it up, revealing the redheaded Chosen. "Oh, great," he said. He tried holding the couch with one arm and dragging him out with the other, but he couldn't do it. So he turned to the other two. "Uh, a little help here?"

"I'm coming, just hold on a second," Marta said.

"He looks to be in pretty bad shape."

"Alright, I'm coming," Lyle said. "Stay where you are, Marta." He carefully got on his feet and slowly walked over to Genis. Thankfully, it seemed they were in a more stable position than he previously thought. There wasn't any more swaying or even metallic groans.

Lyle bent down beneath the couch and dragged a still unconscious Zelos out from beneath it. He really did look bad. Some of the dressing was ripped away, revealing the nasty wound beneath it and letting blood run down his body. He also had a purple spot on his abdomen.

Once Zelos was completely clear of the couch, Genis set it down gently. Lyle let go of Zelos and sat down, catching his breath. "He's heavier than he looks," Lyle remarked.

Genis sat down next to him. "I could say the same thing about the couch." He looked past Lyle at Marta. "How's Colette? Is she alright?"

Without looking up, Marta said, "I'm pretty sure I know what happened. Her body was already pretty weak from the knife in her shoulder. It looks as if the knife burrowed deeper when she smacked against the wall. Perhaps she fainted from the pain." She frowned. "Although, there is also this bump on her head. She could've hit her head and fell unconscious from that. Or perhaps a combination of the two…"

"Marta," Genis interrupted. "We got it. Would you mind looking at Zelos now?"

She looked up at him and then shook her head. "Right, sorry." She was about to come over, but she stopped. "Maybe one of us should switch places to keep things balanced."

"Good idea. I think Lyle should switch."

Lyle looked at him. "Wait, why?"

Genis turned to him. "Think about it. If we were separated between lightweights and heavyweights—with you and Zelos being heavyweights and the rest of us lightweights—and if you went, there would two lightweights and a heavyweight over here and a lightweight and heavyweight on the other side. If I went, there would be two heavyweights and a lightweight on this side and two lightweights on the other side. But then again, the latter is already happening right now and nothing seems to be the matter. But on the other hand, if we make things more balanced, then it would be more likely that we will survive this."

"Um…you kind of lost me. Or was that rant not directed at me?"

"Just go to the other side. Trust me."

Lyle stood up. "Okay, that I understand." He made his way to the other side, carefully passed by Marta, and sat down next to Colette.

Marta reached the other Chosen and looked over his wound. "It just needs some redressing. He's going to be fine."

Genis pointed at the purple spot on him. "What about that?"

"That…is just a bruise. It's probably from when the couch fell on him. Although it is odd that he only got a bruise in one place and the rest is blemish-free."

"In a nutshell, he's fine, right?" Lyle asked.

"Yes, he'll live."

"Alright. I believe our next priority is to find a way to get Lloyd up here. Once that's done, we'll figure out how to get down without killing ourselves."

"Who made you in charge?" an unfamiliar female voice asked.

Lyle was caught by surprise. He looked around looking for the owner of that voice and saw a young woman standing right by the stalagmite. She had raven-colored hair, a purple tunic, dark blue skin-tight jeans (or something like that), blue boots, a pink ribbon around her waist, and a knife strapped on her back. "Who are you?"

Genis smiled. "Shame on you, Lyle. She's the one we told you about. Sheena!"